A journey into ‘The Inner Path’ shown by Gautam Buddha
New Delhi, 28 April: Over twenty feature
and short films, panel discussions, art exhibitions, and discourses on
Buddhist philosophy and thought will mark ‘Inner Path’, a five-day
festival of understanding Buddhism.
Union Minister for Culture Kumari Selja will inaugurate the
meet on 27 April at Azad Bhavan of the Indian Council for Cultural
Relations whose President Dr Karan Singh and Director-General Dr Suresh K
Goel will be present. This will be followed by ‘Buddhist Sacred Dances
and Rituals’ by a six-member dance troupe from Sri Lanka.
Prior to the inauguration of the main event, the exhibition
‘The Greatest Journey of Ideas: Spread of Buddhism’ – a select range of
photographs of Buddhist Art in 19 countries by art historian-filmmaker-
photographer Benoy K Behl will be inaugurated the same day. This is the
preview of an exhibition opening in London on 15 May, Washington on 19
May and Tokyo on 24 May.
‘The Inner Path’ is being organized by the Network for
Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) and the Devki Foundation and is the
first International Buddhist Festival in the country of his birth. The
festival, which is expected to become an annual feature, has been
conceptualized by renowned film critic and NETPAC President Aruna
Vasudev, and is being held in partnership with eminent filmmaker Suresh
Jindal, Chairman of the Devki Foundation.
Starting from 27 April and slated to go on till 1 May, the
festival at the Azad Bhavan (Indian Council of Cultural Relations) will
present Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics through various creative
forms – a dance performance, films, an exhibition of photographs, and
selected art works, discourses, discussions and debates.
The objective of the festival is to promote an
understanding and appreciation of the art and philosophy of Buddhism
together with the interaction of audiences with scholars and filmmakers.
Addressing a press meet here, Dr Goel, Ms Vasudev and Mr
Jindal stressed that Buddhism was not a religion but a way of thought
and an exploration of the mind.
Ms Vasudev said this was the first event on Buddhism after the International
Buddhist Conclave held last year in November. She also recalled that
NETPAC had organized a festival of films on Buddhism way back in 1995.
She said the features, documentaries, and shorts are coming from Bhutan, Argentina, Korea, Sri Lanka, China and Japan.
Renowned directors and film personalities from these
countries will be present. They include director Yoon Yong-jin of ‘Hal’,
Srilankan film star Thumindu Dodantenna of ‘Sankara’, ‘Amongst the
Clouds’ by Edward A. Burger; the documentary ‘Peace is every step’ by
Gaetano Kazuo Maida, and renowned director Hector Kumarasiri whose film
‘Abinikmana’ will have its world premiere here. She added that
‘Trishagini’ by Nabendu Ghosh which was screened in 1995 will also be
shown, apart from ten films by Benoy K Behl, and Im Kwon-Taek’s ‘Come
Come Come Upwards’.
Dr Goel said Buddhism – a gift to the world from India –
appeared to have come back with a vengeance in the past few years as
people had begun to realize that it was not a religion but a way of
thought.
Mr Behl said he had been documenting the history of
Buddhism and had made twelve films on the subject. Apart from his
exhibition, an exhibition of a selection of Contemporary Buddhist Art
presented by The Art Value, and Asha’s Salon d’Art will also be on
display.
Prof. Shashi Bala, scholar and author of several books on
Buddhism, said she would be conducting Panel Discussions on 30 April and
1 May from 2 pm to 4 pm on Boddhisatvas.
On each festival day, there will be a philosophical
discourse by a Buddhist scholar/practitioner on different traditions of
Buddhist philosophy every evening at 5.00 pm. These are: Tibetan
Buddhism and the Nalanda Tradition by Geshe Dorji Damdul, Director of
Tibet House, New Delhi (28 April); Bodhidharma and Zen Buddhism by Prof.
Lokesh Chandra, International Academy of Indian Culture, New Delhi (29
April); Mindfulness in everyday life by Dharmacharya Shantum Seth,
Ahimsa Trust (30 April); and The Three Yanas by Venerable Sumati Sasana,
Spiritual Programme Coordinator, Tushita Centre, New Delhi (1 May).
NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) is an
international organization with its Secretariat in Sri Lanka and Aruna
Vasudev is its Founder-President. NETPAC-India has been actively
promoting Asian cinema in India over many years. Aruna also founded the
world’s first Asian film journal ‘Cinemaya’ and the Cinefan Festival of
Asian and Arab Cinema
Devki Foundation is a registered Trust of Award-winning Film Producer Suresh Jindal some of whose films include Basu Chatterji’s Rajnigandha, Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari, Attenborough’s Gandhi, Mani Kaul’s Naukar Ki Kameej, etc. He has just finished the shooting of Vara, the new film by Khyentse Norbu (who made The Cup & Travellers & Magicians), as Executive Producer. The Trust is involved in supporting Buddhist schools and Dharma Centres.
The Festival has been supported by the ICCR and the Public
Diplomacy Division of the Ministry for External Affairs, Government of
India.
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